


[S] Leitmotifs 2: Something Borrowed, Something Blue(s)

by landofspaceandrainbows (cereus)



Series: Musicstuck Meta [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Meta, Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28259547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cereus/pseuds/landofspaceandrainbows
Summary: Or: about [s] piperorgankind.
Series: Musicstuck Meta [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070168
Kudos: 1
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	[S] Leitmotifs 2: Something Borrowed, Something Blue(s)

<https://www.deviantart.com/vasheren/art/JOHN-BE-KARKAT-276866981>

[S] Piperorgankind

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2dC6bduvw>

....

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLweJucEPL0>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P1YEwFwjcU>

( ^ 2 x movies about superhero themes combob! )

So back to themes and leitmotifs! Homestuck is intensely linked into music, and uses music a lot to it's advantage. After seeing stuff in [s] caliborn: enter, i decided to go back looking for more musical themes. 

I was able o pin down some stuff pretty easily, but what, for example is John's leitmotif?

It's hard to make a 1 to 1 comparison, because HS is a little between genres, but in some ways, at least, John and in general post godtier people act like superheroes, powerful, having their own thing, and there is sort of a subgenre of superhero themes! So obviously for John there's Showtime! But I think John has two leitmotifs. Because shit be complicated yo! So we have Showtime, which starts out like this

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj8dYgtfiag>

Sort of contemplative, simple, a good introduction, which moves onto this 

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKURlfskGsE>

Which, thy're both really interesting songs! They're sort of slippery and mischevious, which can sort of hint that maybe John isn't the sort of hero that goes after things with his big muscles, but is instead sort of a trickster! but the picture doesn't seem quite complete, and there's other songs associated with John, so maybe John has 2 themes. So what's the other "John song" ?

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45v9g7KX-Ko>

( ^ abt "borrowed leitmotifs")

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYBzZj7Bddk>

( "put the bunny back in the box!!!!" )

So the other isn't really "from" homestuck originally, but has been used in it enough that it now has a "place" in homestuck too. Which is called a "borrowed leitmotif".  
And in particular, "How do I breathe" is associated with the bunny, every time it plays it's in conjunction with seeing the bunny and the gifts in general. so it's tied in with the round robin of gifts the friends give eachother, including the all-important and central toy bunny.... Which are instigated by John and genuinely improve the friends's lives! So in a way the song becomes the leitmotif for friendship! Or specifically John/friendship! Also, "How Do I **Breathe** Without You"?? Really??

Which ties into John's "thing". He's a Hero of Breath - of tricksterness and freedom and even (buddhist style) *detachment*. Thinking outside of the box! And his "powers" and strengths flow from there (and his weaknesses too sometimes, "i want to talk to the real dave", really John??). He's the heir of breath! But he also needs his friends to help "anchor" him and hold him downward sometimes. And he also uses his powers *for* his friends, that's what he "does the superheroey thing" for!  
So that sort of shows the the main tension of his character and arc, trying to balance those two forces.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2dC6bduvw>  
  
So Showtime gets it's final form in Piperorgankind! Which is a neat bit of meta-storytelling because he's actually.... playing it as well, as part of his final heroic quest includes seeking out a ancient magic pipe organ and learning to play it. 

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2AC447Wqc0>

This version like all good superhero songs brings the threads together, Showtime shines on the pipe organ. But where's "How Do I Breathe?" .... slipped into the place where "How Do I Breathe" should be, they've put the carnival - esque music we recognize from the [S] 5 Times Showdown Combo. Which is a episode from "Murderstuck" which is full of stuff about blood and bonds and friendship! And it's a song associated with his new friend Karkat, the troll. So now his circle of friends has expanded to include Karkat and all the trolls/aliens! So now including that, he's saving the world for them too. And it shouldn't be any other way. < 3


End file.
